Abstract
AmeriCorps has been called a political “Swiss army knife,” meeting many policy goals at once. Among these goals is to strengthen the civic engagement of those who participate in AmeriCorps programs. Building off the argument of Shirley Sagawa in her 2010 book on the national service movement, I used post-program survey data from the AmeriCorps Longitudinal Study to examine how AmeriCorps member experiences influence their civic engagement outcomes. I analyzed responses from over 1300 AmeriCorps members to determine how civic engagement outcomes were influenced by the frequency that members planned their service activities, directly served beneficiaries, served in the community they lived, served with diverse members, and served beneficiaries of diverse backgrounds. I found that planning service activities had the broadest impact on perceptions of self-efficacy, connection to community, and participation in civic organizations. In my final chapter, I discuss the implications of my findings and how future research can improve upon my methods.